Microsoft Studios' creative director defends always-online Xbox 720

StickSkills said, "Rumors of what Microsoft’s next-generation console will look, sound and play like have been swirling for months now, but the possible feature that’s elicited the most discussion has been its always-online nature. The gaming community has been clearly upset over the yet-to-be-seen future of the Xbox, and Microsoft Studios’ Creative Director Adam Orth has heard just about enough of it all."
(Microsoft, Xbox One)

This damage control from Microsoft pretty much confirms an "Always Online, Always Connected" system. lol

Looks like whatever else Edge leaked may be right about the 720 as well.

Blocking used games, DRM? Mandatory/built in Kinect? Spying on the user? Installs and whatnot etc. etc.

Like what was said before, if Microsoft could get away with making you pay for half of a game you've already payed for, and making you pay for services you are ALREADY paying for (Netflix) blah blah blah...

Microsoft doing this doesn't seem so far fetched. : /

Seriously yo? WTF?!?!?!?! Microsoft are like the EA and Capcom of console manufacturers. lol

Now the "always online" has pretty much been confirmed. I just saw another article stating that the NextBox will allow for up to three minutes offline to compensate for internet outages (yeah, like outages only last 3 minutes).

lol'd at the vacuum cleaner thing.If my electricity went out as much as my internet then I would leave india ( electricity goes out daily there) and im guessing the other rumors are true now too.. welp no nextbox for me i guess.The new forza will be missed That is if the rumor about not being able to PLAY unless you have online is true. ...for a minute I start to think he is being sarcastic but then again some of the stuff he said makes it seem he really thinks like that ( aside from the city thing )

I truly hope this is just a case of poor sense of humor, because those are some of the worst analogies that I have ever seen!

Vacuum cleaners have always needed a power grid to work and mobile phones have always needed a wireless service provider to operate, those are inevitable requirements stemming from their basic design and/or function.

But game consoles have been able to play games without an internet connection for the last 40 years. That's not going to turn into a necessary and inevitable requirement just because MS says so.

I already have issues with my internet randomly disconnecting.. Might be a dent in the cable, a router setting or just the ISP.. All i know it pisses me of when im playing online, but it would realy piss me off it stopped a single player game from running.

If its true and it also turns out not to be Backwards compatible.. I dont think i would buy it.. I'd like to keep my game collection...

And don't say keep your 360 for your games, cause i will, but the thing is 5 years old and has trouble reading discs since the lens is all smeared up from sigarete (and weed) smoke xD

how many people on here are 360 fans or you own both a 360 and ps3, who would have got the next xbox but are not buying it if this crap is true ?

Agree, you are not buying the next xbox

disagree, you are still going to buy it regardless

Personally, if this turns out to be true ( it's looking likely that it is) I am not touching it. I was a big MS supporter of MS when this gen started (although have owned a ps3 which i sold recently), I don't have much love for them right now and if this is true I won't think twice about only buying the ps4 and leaving the next xbox in the dust.

There is a big difference between Microsoft putting it in at the hardware/operating system level and a game developer putting it in at the software/video game/app level. If an individual game is online only or not then I lose just that one game when my internet is not there for any reason. But if I an entire console platform is online only then lose all my games when the internet goes out.

If the game developer wants to do that with his individual game then I am free to buy that game or buy an alternative depending on which I want.

If the console manufacturer puts it in at the hardware/operating system level then I have the same choice. I am free to buy that console or to buy an alternative console depending on which I want.

You had me, YOU FRIGGIN' HAD ME. You don't believe me? Look at my comment history, I was ready to give every console a chance.

I was ready to get the Next Box firstly and before the PS4 (just to make a point) because I didn't like they way they are trying to lock-out people from their older games, but you had to find a way to screw that up. What I hate more than a console that won't play the games you already purchased is a console that has to be always online to play games.

That's not only pointless power consumption, but it smacks of monitoring devices I've seen.

I don't put my console online when I play single player because I can free it up for my roommate so there will be a faster connection, not being able to do that will result in a non-purchase from not only me, but people who are in a situation like that. People who work from home rely on a fast connection and when multiple people work from home, there is no question that a console isn't worth a constant paycheck.

You just screwed yourself, Microsoft; and if Sony does the same thing, they they are on the outs as well.

Speak up? You mean on the system which has yet to be announced and everything you have heard is pure speculation and rumors from "anonymous sources"? Give me a break. Gamestops CEO said he is excited for the Next Gen. Xbox console, I doubt he'd be that excited if it blocked used games, you know, which is gamestops cash cow.

That sound you're hearing is the PR division of Microsoft going into meltdown. Always on is a divisive idea but handled well MS could have limited the damage caused.

Handled like this turns them into the bad guys and MS will be forced into making a statement now. They cant stay silent on the issue now can they? Its left a bad taste in gamers mouths and surely the longer they stay silent the more damage is done. I dont expect he'll be staying in his role much longer, if he even manages to stay employed with the company.

Seriously! If the next Xbox is always online I swear I will NOT buy it in a million years!

No matter how great it games or if gives you free blowjobs. The rumours about no used games is bad enough, but requiring always online? Screw this crap! Virgin internet get shitty sometimes and I won't like it when my console refusing to allow me to continue my OFFLINE SINGLEPLAYER game just because am not online.

Let them defend him.. Some people need to find things out the hard way.. Theres times when i dont want ppl to know im online playing so i turn my internet off.. Good to know ill be ok to do what i please on PS4

Do you know 360 has privacy settings which will let you show offline to all or to all except friends so friends can only see that you're online?

On topic: Even though i've got 16mbps always online connection i wouldn't go for next box if it's a "REQUIREMENT". There goes my 74k gamer score and tons of games. Guess will stick it with 360 as long as there are games coming for it then jump ship to ps4.

yup but theres times when i dont want to play online at all.. Dark souls for example where being online allows phantoms to interrupt you when doing a critical objective.. Its not about that though, what about when maintenance is going on & xbl is down? Or theres a network outage in your area? Then what? not play at all? No thanks.. My games wont be reliant on the internet & i wont scramble for HDD space because all my games need to be fully installed..

Horrible news... Well, Sony went insane and now they've just fallen short of shaking everyone's hand and apologizing. It was Sega before that, and Atari before them. Guess it's MS's turn. Something about mid life makes these console makers get hotflashes and go insane. Bigger news still is how Nintendo can sell the Wii and VirtualBoy with a straight face and still be alive. God bless those bastards. Loving my Wii U tho, wrote this comment on it ^_^

I agreed with you and the disagrees you got is the number of people who will be playing the x720 and that's not very many. Have fun having no one to play with or against on the x720. While everyone is gaming on the ps4 like its black Friday. Everyone will be up on the ps4 during Christmas and on mics and online.

Why is everyone here so afraid of this? Are you all accessing n4g from a library or something? If your internet keeps getting cut off then.. I dont wanna be rude but get better internet.

My PC, 360 and PS3 are always connected and so is everyone on all my friends lists. Its really not a big deal. Anyway, this was a bit of banter with his mate so people shouldnt be offended with him sounding rude as it was someone he knows

Some of the people on this site are either constant trolling status or just complete morons. There is still NOTHING that says you NEED an internet connection to use the system. This most likely sounds like the system will have better features and/or benefits if it is always connected. "Always on, Always Connected". If a rational, non-fanboy mind thinks about it, you'd come to an idea that the system will be on, even when you shut down, to a low power mode (always on) and it will do updates/maintenance for the system, games saved on HD, etc (always connected). We have not seen ANYTHING saying it won't work offline. Oh wait, we all tend to believe "anonymous sources" now, right?

I get what you're saying, I have a pretty good internet connection and for me it's definitely not a big deal but there's no argument that will convince me that always online is a good thing. Privacy issues aside one reason I don't support this is that my son will be old enough to play games in a few years and quite frankly I don't want him to be online while he plays games.

If you dont think you "win" after spending $500 on something, why would you think about buying it in the first place? I know that if I spent those $500 on a PS4, I would not be losing. Maybe gaming isnt the right hobby for you.

in this case i told you so just doesn't cut it LOL I TOLD U SO LOL I guess if this rumor is true then all the others might be has well , sucks to be an xbox only guy thats why i have all 3 systems when one fails guess what on to the next one on to the next one

While I do fully agree always online is a very bad idea, many people are blowing this out of pespective. This guy is part of the Microsoft studios, and he's a creative director, he has say in games and probably a small amount of influence in what goes into the nextbox. He is not part of the entertainment division who are the ones who decide what goes in the nextbox.

But seriously if it does end up being always online Im not buying it, lets not also forget if it is the case of always online Im sure a very nice lawsuit in the good ol' USA will make them correct it.

Your under the assumption that this is some sort of death sentence for the 720, when it reality there are a lot of uninformed gamers that wouldn't see a problem with this.

Remember, these people think paying a yearly fee to use THEIR OWN Internet connection to play online is NORMAL. MS knows their community better than anyone. They wouldn't be stupid enough to do something like this if they didn't think people would bite.

This has been the story all generation. People online make fun of Gears for being a "dude bro" game, but in the real world the Gears franchise has sold over 20 million.

People say Halo is generic, yet in reality the franchise has sold over 50 million units.

If Microsoft decides to do it, I strongly doubt the majority of gamers would have a problem with it. Outside of the Internet, I've heard no one complaining about an always on Xbox 720.

Just because a good chunk of 360 users don't use online doesn't mean they don't have it. Maybe they CHOOSE not to be Gold members because they aren't fans of playing online and would rather play local co-op with friends. I could name two family members of the top of my head who have Internet connections but don't hook their 360 up to it.

^^Another person who lives exclusively in Internet land. Just because Plus is a better deal than XBL doesn't mean it will be the more successful service. Advertising is a major factor.

HALF of 360 owners are Gold subscribers. Not even 10% of PSN users are Plus subscribers...despite it being the better valued service.

So no, Microsoft(in reality) isn't losing Gold sales to Plus...at least not on a major quantifiable scale.

If the "better" deal was automatically the more successful one, then the Wii wouldn't have owned this gen and the Vita would be outselling the 3DS 3-1. You forget that word of mouth, brand awareness, and marketing are major factors.

How will consumers choose Plus over Gold when most don't even know what Plus is?

I agree somewhat. I honestly can't believe that Microsoft would risk such a large portion of their audience. At the same time, such a drastic move indicates they have a justification for requiring an internet connection.

It's ridiculous how many people are dismissing the next Xbox based on a sliver of rumor. Judge once we have the full details.

Microsoft needs to have a compelling reason for being "always online". If it's simply for piracy, the next Xbox's public perception will likely be severely crippled.

Sony ruled the market for two generations straight, and I believe some developers have said that during the PS2 era they were arrogant and tough to work with. Though the PS3 is still a great success and will almost definitely be their their third console to sell 100 million, I believe this gen really showed SONY they are definitely not invincible.

What role is that? You know what's amazing, how often the gaming community on forums differ from the mainstream public. How many here bash Live fees (myself included)? Yet they seem to be doing ok in that area aren't they? How many here bashes Diablo III and it's online connections having to be enabled? Didn't that game sell over 13 million copies? How many people here have their PS3's, Xbox 360's and Wii U's connected online all the time? How many here use Steam and love Steam yet it too needs to be connected to get the game started?

In no way am I defending the rumors of the Xbox requiring an online connection. I hope they don't, but don't think for second that all of this riff-raff that occurs on game forums is parallel to real world purchases.

We live in a connected society now, we link our Facebook accounts with various devices, we check our e-mails and use Twitter and get news feeds to our devices all day long. Valve does extremely well and all of their content is sold digitally. Microsoft may indeed require a connection but I just don't see the new Xbox not working if the net goes down. We've seen it before with the Playstation Network for over a month, can you imagine not even being able to play offline for that long on the new Xbox? It's not going to happen that way. They may require some validation but to require a constant connection? I seriously doubt it. Not unless Microsoft wants to be open for complete failure when the connection fails.

We already seen the hoopla that happens when there are issues with Xbox Live and how unhappy customers are. If people cannot access anything that would scar Microsoft much more than the RRoD ever did.

LOGICWINS "Outside of the Internet, I've heard no one complaining about an always on Xbox 720."

You need to be connected to Steam to buy the game and verify through Steams service. If you buy a product outside of Steam you have to put in a code. This is a far more likely scenario with the new Xbox rather than always having to be connected just to play.

You're calling out Mike for defending MS? Give me a break. Mike has a valid point, all you sony fanboys don't. All this crap is just RUMORS from "anonymous sources" that pathetic online gaming "journalists" post so they can get hits. MS has said NOTHING about next gen. and will only do so when they want. The "defending" Mike is doing is implicating that this is highly unlikely and rumors. That's fact. These are all rumors. I'm not saying one way or the other what the nextbox will have, but I will wait till I actually hear FACTS from MS before I judge.

Don't worry about it. What we have are people who choose sides and want to clash with anyone who doesn't share their pessimism. Trouble is I don't have a side. I already said before the PS4 looks great so far yet he thinks I am somehow favoring the next Xbox. Makes no sense at all but people like him aren't here for reasoning, they like the conflict.

It would be very foolish for Microsoft to have a system that requires an online connection at all times. Out of the 75 million + Xbox 360 owners less than half are even Gold members and I imagine not of all the 75 million owners are even always connected. Look at all the hoopla when the Playstation network went down for over a month and what happened with SimCity. Can you imagine the next Xbox being like that and customers not being able to access any game?

They could have a validation system. Like we see when you buy used games now and trying to access the online portions. My PS3 is on all the time. I am also a PLus member and it wouldn't be as useful if I wasn't connected all the time. But again that isn't to defend MS, it's the reality we live in today.

If this is a confirmation from a MS employee that the Nextbox will infact be always on, he should be fired. Devs and journalist are bound by the NDA, so I doubt the brass at MS are very happy with this guy running his mouth.

If all that was true it would still be comparable to the ps4 and run the same games. Now imagine the ps4 is 450 and the 720 is 199 or maybe even 99 dollars with a. 2 year xbl sub? I think it would be a smash hit and a clear winner sales wise. I would prob even get one down the road and I hate the idea of online for consoles, steam, vita games, basically everything that requires it. My issue is if I want to play games years later would they drop the requirement? Prob not. They would prob make all games work on future system similar to how steam keeps one game library whether you upgrade to a new pc so whatever system or gen all games work, full bc.

Still my only sure bet is a WiiU. I'm not sold on any other console and the only way il pay for xbl is to get a steal on the console or if it allows free online and or offline play. I'm a 360 owner who never payed for live. I don't give half a shit for online just games. I'm thinking even if 40 million of us (people who don't pay for xbl) all skip this console MS won't even care. They make their cash on xbl so me buying a console and the dozen new games (the other dozen or two was used) doesn't really make enough cash for ms to care. They're catering to their base aka the people who pay. I don't think they care about sheer numbers and owning the living room because they carved out their market which prevents Sony dominance. Now its about revenue.

I don't take this as confirmation. But it's not very professional, and with the lack of MS actually saying anything, it's pretty natural that people will take this to mean something, particularly given his position within MS.

I will still debate the idea that it's a bad move, even though I still find it highly unlikely that they would do this in the end. I'm still keenly interested in what MS is going to bring next gen...but if this pans out to be true, I won't have to bother with them at all.

Edit@below

I have no problem waiting and seeing before passing judgement, however in the meantime I will happily voice my opinion on the concept regardless of which company it may be rumored for.

If this was indeed from someone inside MS, then it's very unprofessional to talk to the consumer like that, even if this guy was being trolled by the community. It's a hot button topic right now, and it dismisses peoples actual concerns, acting like everyone is a troll.

I think that the important thing here is to determine what "always online" really means. Always online and REQUIRED to be online can be completely different. The two so far are being talked about as the same thing in rumors, and this may not necessarily be the case.

Great...what benefit does making a console require always online actually provide for the consumer? There's a difference between a luxury and a necessity. Just because a device requires it to be connected to work(like a cell phone) doesn't mean that every device needs to be connected, particularly if that device doesn't require a connection to work(like a console). The only logical reason for it is to control the consumer.

There's nothing wrong with having it optional...we already have that...but having it mandatory is just bad sense, unless there is some ulterior motive to it.

I call BS on this, there is now way he could come out and confirm in always on connection and be that big of in ass hole and still have his job when microsoft doesn't even want the smallest bit of info being leaked. And how do you know this is even his real twitter account?

I'm not happy about needed internet to play the new Xbox, but I was just stating electricity isn't available everywhere in the U.S. and Canada. Clearly I'm talking about the boondocks, but it is true nonetheless.

Hmmm...yeah tell the consumer to get with the times. Very professional there. This is the same as the crap as all those publishers and devs who tout digital distribution. They talk it up, but don't address the very real issues that people have with it.

His first example doesn't fit, as electricity is pretty ubiquitous. His second...you know what there are people who don't purchase cell phones because they can't get reception. Who'd a thought consumers wouldn't spend money on something they can't use.

Hate to tell you this Adam...many people are with the times, they just don't want always on DRM, and the internet has at no point proven itself to be reliable to sustain a 24/7 connection without any ramifications at some point in a consumers use of it. There is no good reason for an always online connection to require the use of a console. So unless MS can convince me otherwise, I'll continue to say how it's a bad idea...even though I doubt MS will go this route.

First up, is this guy legit? Does he really work for MS? It sounds like bollocks. If he does work for them now, he may not be tomorrow.

Preceding with my comment, presuming those comments are true, I have said pretty much nothing on this always on subject from the start, because I assumed it was a lot of talk and speculation and MS wouldnt be dumb enough to actually go through with it, but if this is for real, then does that confirm that the DRM is for real?

I'd still prefer to know more before I form any opinion on it, but wow, that sucks. MS need to say something soon, this craps gotten out of hand, and no I dont believe all publicity is good publicity. Even coming out now and saying yes, everything you've heard is true would be better than just saying nothing all.

I honestly want this new Xbox to be online only. Not because I like the idea of it, but because I want Microsoft to know how you can't just F over your consumers like this. They need to find out the hard way like Sony did. They've grown way to cocky. Maybe then, Microsoft will straighten up and start taking their video game market more seriously.

Well the account is legit, I've followed for a while now. The big difference between always on, and being forced to always be on to play is pretty significant. I realize always on is something companies are pushing for, we've seen it with Diablo 3, Sim City and soon with Destiny.

It will be interesting to see what comes from this, I definitely wouldn't be interested in not being able to play games without a constant connection. I also understand the future is taking us to all digital and probably always online, but when the internet goes out, or the next console is released, I'll want to continue playing my games that I paid for.

This is far from confirmation, I might end up being a Nintendo only console owner for the next generation.

Why would a MS employee defend something that isn't true? Yep, this confirms it. The next Xbox will be required to always be online. I was holding out for Killer Instinct 3 but even if it's a launch title I WILL Not buy an always online console. No thank you, MS. This will force every Xbox owner to pay for XBL. HELL NO!

Well I highly doubt he is the only one with an opinion like that for always online, doesn't mean he speaks for Microsoft. I'm sure there are people at Nintendo and Sony who feel the same way, doesn't mean those consoles have that.

We are transitioning towards that aspect, but I would prefer not to at this time. Tweets aren't endorsements, but you can tell that the industry wants digital only and always online.

jeese...your comment was so balanced then you add you'd only have a nintendo next gen...you really are relentless in your dislike for the console that may just be the best second option out there for those who prefer the 360...good luck with that anyway..We lose nothing lmao

I go where the games that interest me go. That is why over the years I've had a NES, PS1, 2, 3 and X360. But there aren't enough games that can sell me to buying a console that requires me to be always online to play offline games.
No thank you Microsoft. It's been fun but no next gen xbox for me if all this is true.